An ad hoc wireless network is a collection of devices (e.g., nodes) capable of wirelessly communicating and networking. Generally, ad hoc wireless networks operate in a distributed, not-fully-connected, asynchronous, and mobile manner. Examples of ad hoc networks include wireless sensor networks, packet radio networks, and wireless mesh networks. An ideal ad hoc network provides multi-hop transmission, high mobility, self-organization, seamless handover, quality of service (QoS), and high spectrum efficiency.
In general, nodes in an ad hoc network are distributed and an ad hoc network has no central controllers, such as access points (AP) in a wide local area network (WLAN) environment or base stations (BS) as described with respect to IEEE 802.16. Therefore, nodes within an ad hoc network cannot rely on a central control architecture to synchronize communications and prevent collisions. Furthermore, an ad hoc network is not guaranteed for full connection (e.g., some nodes may not be able to hear each other), which results in hidden-node and exposed-node problems.
A hidden node is within the coverage of a receiving node, but is outside of the coverage of a sending node that is transmitting to the receiving node. If the hidden node is transmitting at the same time as the sending node is transmitting, the hidden node's transmission will cause interference with the receiving node and will prevent the receiving node from receiving a message from the sending node. An exposed node is a node that is within a sending node's coverage, but outside the receiving node's coverage. The exposed node will not be able to receive while the sending node is transmitting. However, the exposed node may transmit to another receiving node outside of the sending node's coverage without causing interference. For reasons such as these, the design of media access control (MAC) protocols for ad hoc networks is challenging.